Client: Fluor Hanford, Inc.

GForce staff completed the design and managed the fabrication of the PFP Plutonium Stabilization and Packaging Equipment Gloveboxes. These gloveboxes were designed to thermally stabilize plutonium at the DOE’s Plutonium Finishing Plant at the Hanford Site. This glovebox line consists of four individual stainless steel gloveboxes, totaling 480 cubic feet, with painted carbon steel structural supports. Glovebox shielding and support structures were fabricated for each glovebox to reduce operator exposure during processing. Shielding panels, consisting of borated-polyethylene encased in steel, were fabricated for installation to allow accessibility to the gloveboxes and minimize personnel exposure.

The PFP glovebox system will allow for plutonium to be characterized, processed, thermally stabilized and sealed directly into stainless steel containers, maintaining an inert atmosphere around the material.